Gutters are an essential but often overlooked part of your home. They protect your home by helping to move rainwater away so that it doesn’t cause damage. Wondering if it’s time to replace your gutters? Here are seven signs that the time is now.

1. The Gutters Are Visibly Damaged

Sometimes it’s possible to fix small issues with your gutters. For example, if you see a little hole, you may be able to patch it. Similarly, if the gutters are coming detached from your roof, you may be able to tighten the hardware.

However, extensive damage generally requires new gutters. Some of the damage you may notice includes corrosion and rust spots. You may see gaps in the seams between different sections of gutters, and you may even find broken hardware or fasteners along the ground underneath the gutters.

2. Your Home Has Water Damage

Whether you see visible issues on the gutters or not, if you see water damage, that may be a sign that you need new gutters. If you constantly have water puddles, icy spots or land erosion under some of your gutters, that could be a sign that they are not working correctly.

Additionally, you should look at the side of your home. Peeling paint or rivulets of dirt may also indicate that your gutters are leaking.

If your basement has mildew and you can’t find any other cause, that may also signal gutter issues. Basically, if the gutters aren’t helping to transport the rainwater away from your home, the water can accumulate along the base of your home and sneak into your basement through the foundation. That can cause flooding, mildew or musty odors.

3. You Are Putting on a New Roof

In theory, you can pair old gutters with a new roof, but it’s always best to upgrade your gutters along with your roof. Sometimes, it may even be necessary.

For instance, if you are putting on a metal roof, you may want to choose lower profile gutters. When snow melts on a metal roof, it usually comes down in big chunks. That can damage wide gutters, but it usually arches over low profile gutters.

4. Your Gutters Have Lead Paint

This is a pretty rare situation, but if your gutters are older than 1978, they may have lead paint. If the paint looks like it was put on at a factory, it’s probably not lead. If it looks hand painted, though, that’s a sign of trouble.

Luckily, it’s quick and easy to do a lead test. You get a testing strip, rub it on and wait to see if it changes color. If it does, it’s time to upgrade to newer, safer gutters.

5. You Don’t Like the Look of Your Gutters

In other cases, you may want to change your gutters simply because you are tired of their style. If you don’t like the color or shape of your gutters, you may want to put in new ones for aesthetic reasons.

6. You’ve Gotten Hurt Cleaning Your Gutters

Annually, there are about 136,000 ladder-related injuries per year, and between 1990 and 2005, that number increased by 50%. If you have gotten hurt while cleaning your gutters, you may want to upgrade to a gutter system that you don’t have to clean. With rain gutter covers, you never have to worry about removing leaves or other debris from your gutters.

7. You Don’t Want to Get Hurt

Don’t wait until you get hurt to make a change. Be proactive and consider investing in a gutter system that doesn’t require cleaning or maintenance.

If you need new gutters for any reason, it’s time to request a free estimate from Gutter Magician. Their goal is to protect your home from water damage while also protecting you.